This is her story
by Mistress of Solitude
Summary: They say, she is the queen of the Greek gods, of Mount Olympus, and yet, she is only known for her jealousy and ferocious anger. What if there was more to Hera than anger and jealousy for a husband that never really cared. Series of unrelated stories focusing on Hera from a not sexist point of view that does not condone cheating husbands as a good thing.
1. apocalypse

**Prompt:** apocalypse.

**Rating:** PG,

**Length:** 375 words or so.

**Summary:** the world is ending.

**Pairing:** none.

**Character(s):** Hera.

**Author's Note:**

This will be a random collection of stories based on prompts, revolving around Hera, also may be sometimes short or super-long, depending on my inspiration and how it hits me. I like to think that if Hera was not Zeus's wife or always condemned, then maybe she could have been amazing, and worshiped like Athena, or remembered like Aphrodite, and loved like Artemis.

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><p><em>Apocalypse<em>

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><p><strong>They say, in despair, one can truly see the ugliness of man.<strong>

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><p>Hera thinks there is something beautiful in watching the destruction of the Earth, something mesmerizing in the way which the fires burn intensely, scorching the ground, and turning even the largest of trees into nothing but ash that the wind blows away so easily. Her ears drown in the noise of never-ending screams, as she breathes in the stench of blood and rotting corpses. She cannot even feel pity for the dying mortals, or sorry for the fact that both her grandmother's and sister's green Earth is no more. Zeus no longer has anyone to believe in him, not in this time of ruin. It makes her smile, a cruel yet somewhat sad smile.<p>

'_It is bittersweet, this kind of end'_, she thinks silently.

She knows that by now, the gates of the underworld are terribly over-flooded with the souls of the dead, and almost feels something as akin to sympathy for her older sibling, and yet, she does not. All these souls would only enlarge Hades's kingdom. Hera knows that Hades only deserves the best.

This time, when her lips twitch, her smile is stuck somewhere between relief, and utter misery. Her eyes fill with cool unshed tears, cold like her heart, the one Zeus had frozen long ago.

The despair that surrounds this world is suffocating, and Hera knows-thinks that, maybe, she always might have known.

Their time, is over...

And maybe, she is just a little bit sad, because she never got to be happy in all the years she had been married. She wishes-and stops. Nothing can be undone after all, not now.

"Oh well, at least, it ends with blood, just like how it started", as she recalls the death of a man who was to be her grandfather, if her father had not slaughtered him at the orders of her grandmother.

And this time, she does not smile, her tears fall, one by one, before a hollow laughter bubbles out from her throat, loud against the screams. It makes her sound mad. _'Perhaps I truly am'_, she thinks to herself.

The silence that falls right then, begins slowly, and Hera, well, she is nowhere to be found.

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><p><strong>end.<strong>


	2. bitter

**Prompt:** bitter.

**Rating:** T.

**Length:** 1,600 words or so.

**Summary:** they say she is bitter, and Hera cannot disagree with their truth.

**Pairing:** _mentioned!_Hera/Zeus, & _hinted!_Helios/Hera.

**Character(s):** Hera, and briefly mentioned Olympians, Gaea, Cronus, & Helios.

**Author's Note:**

This was actually supposed to be really short, but somehow the words just kept on coming. I saw some of the reviews for the first chapter, and I'm glad you people are enjoying this. It makes me want to update a bit faster, even though every new chapter will be random and sudden, since I have no fixed pattern with my writing. This style and genre may differ compared to the last story, but it's still kind of dark, maybe darker than the previous one, nonetheless I hope you enjoy reading this one too!

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><p><strong>Bitter<strong>

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><p>They say she is bitter, and maybe, Hera can agree with them there. Because, she was not always like this.<p>

She once knew, how to smile, timid though it was —_years of being imprisoned in her father's belly had taught her nothing but fear—, _it was something of a wonder to look at, or so her siblings had once told her.

Hera believed that maybe after being free of Cronus, she would not be imprisoned again...she thought, she would be free. A fool's wish it was, made by a naïve and yet so-very-young goddess, who did not know any better. For, how could she? Hera, like her older siblings had been trapped in darkness since her birth, where the light she glimpsed of for that short moment had been taken away so quickly, she did not even know why. And despite what Rhea would tell them of the world, words were not experience, nor were they knowledge to one who had not seen the world, in all its beautiful glory and terrifying ugliness.

She thought that after the years of being locked away, Zeus —_who had been their savior—_, was a great brother and an even more magnificent god. Of course, she had thought wrong, but no one had dared to crush Hera's beliefs then. Mostly, because, at that time, they had all thought the same.

No one expected Hera to marry Zeus, not when she swore on the freedom that she had so recently just gained that, "As long as I live, I will not be like our mother Rhea, I will _not_ marry a god who makes me watch my children suffer, and I will not marry a god who thinks he is worthy of greatness, for arrogance only makes a god more foolish. I will marry a god that loves me and not his throne..." And because, Zeus was so much like her father, —from what Gaea had told her, when she asked her what she thought of Zeus— Hera had decided that Zeus was not worthy of her time. She had been slightly arrogant and quite picky to what kind of god could capture her heart. Because she had fought in the war against her father, and his-_titans_, since they were not all of his siblings, some of them had not enjoyed the prospect of war with young gods, and had not been so blindly loyal to Cronus to fight **his** war, against the very children he'd condemned to eternal misery and darkness. So, her behavior was not chastised, for not many goddesses were to known to go to war, and still remain so righteous and kind.

It was also because Hera had been fond of Helios, not in love with him, but so very fond of him, Hestia had told Hades that, if Metis's son had not been prophesized to usurp Zeus's throne, Helios could have whisked away Hera to his realm of light, and forever brightened Hera's dark view of the world. It had made Hades eyes sharpen in a glare right then, and Hestia sigh wistfully, but no one had said anything to Zeus for stealing Hera away, not until they'd been told of_ how_ Zeus had managed to get Hera to marry him. It was why, in the many years later, that Hades never saw eye to eye with his younger sibling, and Hestia had chosen to never marry.

That is what she had said back then, but that is not what happened, because most of the time, Hera pretends it did not. She likes to lie to herself, and imagine she was courted. She tells herself, "It is alright if I am no longer a virgin" even though to her, it really is not; though deep inside of her, an angry voice whispers, "_No!_ _It is not. I am-_was_...a virgin goddess. People worshiped ME, as a virgin goddess! What would they think if they knew of what transpired that night?!"_ And so, she lies to herself, and to all but two of her oldest siblings, "Zeus decided to court me, and with time, I began to fall in l-love with him." It is a lie that makes her want to retch and never face anyone ever again. It is a lie, about a truth that makes her want to carve her insides out, and lock herself in solitude so that nothing bad will ever happen to her again. She lets the marriage happen instead, and begins to slowly hate herself with each and every passing day. Inwardly, she secretly begins to wish Zeus had never saved them; she begins to miss the comfort of the never-changing darkness, and of the siblings who always took care of her then.

The incident, which occurred, but Hera tells herself that it did not, was when she lost her virginity, and could no longer be considered a virgin goddess of purity.

He had come to her in the guise of a cuckoo, rain-soaked and frazzled; she had taken pity upon the creature, and brought him into the shelter of her bosom so it could be warm and safe from the rain. But not before long, the cuckoo had transformed into Zeus, and then, he'd taken her against her wishes, shaming her terribly. To which, there had been no other option but to marry him. She could have taken her life, but she could not do that to her mother, and besides the only ways gods could die were not really pleasant —_she sort of envies mortals for the way death comes so easily to them_.

That incident, had robbed her of her smiles, and made rain fall for months, for Gaea had known of her sadness and wanted the world to know that she was just as sad for her granddaughter. Despite that, her smiles never returned, and were as rare as snowfall in the hottest of deserts. It pained the hearts of Hades and Hestia, left Demeter rather annoyed because she could not fathom _why _Hera had stopped smiling, Poseidon quite befuddled with why Hera no longer laughed at his jokes, and Zeus, nonchalant as always.

Hera was always shy with her smiles, as if she did not know if smiling was allowed or if happiness still eluded her understanding, which is why they were known to be _so beautiful _when they would appear. It was why, the people of Argos worshiped her so fervently, for the statue they had of her, was one with a lovely smile, and slight crinkle of her eyes.

A sculptor had once been graced by her presence, since he'd always been praying for a woman to love him someday so he could have a wife and family. Now Hera had been no goddess of love, but she knew women, and one had loved the sculptor since her youth, to end their misery, she came upon the woman in her dreams and told her, "You know, if you made your intentions clear, you could have been married by now." Since Hera was not allowed to interfere in the personal matters of mortals, she just hinted to the woman to show her interest in the sculptor, and that by doing so, all would fall into place, and to the sculptor appeared in his daydream, and told him with a smile, "Patience is the utmost of virtues, Daimon, wait, and then you will find a woman who_ loves_ you." Daimon, the sculptor, had been in awe of the beauty of the smile of his virgin goddess that, that was how he'd sculpted her.

Her words had rang true, when the woman had come by one day, and told him, she found men who could create beautiful sculptures, very charming. Since he'd been the only sculptor in Argos back then, he'd smiled and inwardly thanked his goddess, before deciding to take his chances and court the woman his goddess had foretold of loving him. They married soon enough, and were blessed by Hera on the day of their wedding, and lived a long and happy life together. The people of Argos had adored the statue, having the _only_ statue of a smiling virgin Hera, and well, it had brought Argos fame and wealth, for they'd been the only kingdom with the statue of a smiling goddess, the first one of Hera since Zeus had been crowned king of Olympus.

It was then that Hera was known as **Argéia**,_ 'She of Argos'_.

So yes. Hera was indeed a bitter goddess.

But you see, unlike the myths that show Zeus as a great god, and Hera as a vindictive and jealous wife, she had not always been bitter. She had once been happy, and could have had a man who loved her, and not his power nor his throne. You see, Hera had nothing to smile about anymore, and that was why she let them speak of her in such a way. She was-_is_ a bitter goddess, her face losing its youthfulness throughout the years, as she had lost her joy and reason to care about looking happy when she really was not.

And that was why, no statue of Hera ever showed her smiles, the one in Argos had been destroyed in time, even though some say that Hera had done so, for it reminded her of a young goddess who no longer was.

Because Hera was so very bitter.

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><p><strong>end.<strong>


	3. black

**Prompt:** black.

**Rating:** G.

**Length:** 2,324 words or so.

**Summary:** black is a color that tends to mean far too many things.

**Pairing:** hints of Hera/Hades, Demeter/Helios, and maybe Helios/Poseidon, not sure about the last one, but it's there, my unusual fondness of Helios is sticking out for some reason.

**Character(s):** Hera, Hades, Poseidon, Demeter, Hestia, Zeus.

**Author's Note:**

This is a slight character introspective story of how each of Chronus's children would react to black, and so on, my love of Hades/Hera squeezed its way in this one though, bit sad about that, but nonetheless please tell if you spotted any grammatical or spelling mistakes, I am a lazy writer who doesn't like editing unless after months of writing something.

Enjoy and take care!

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><p><em><strong>Black<strong>_

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><p>See the thing about black was, it tended to remind Hera far too often of the darkness, and yet, despite the fear, she had a certain love for the color. It was odd, to see how Hera could not even enter caves unless she had a light, but still wore black dresses and gowns like they belonged to her, instead of the other way around.<p>

But then again, Hera's hair was a dark as their father's, long like their grandmother's, and fell in silky waves down to her knees. It was like a long dark cape, but Hera wore it down as if it were a shield that could protect her from ever standing out in the dark. As always, it was what made Hera so beautiful amongst the goddesses, none could compare to her ebony-black hair, nor her eyes that shone like silver-starlight, her lips bright red, like she bit them too much, and her cheeks pink, for Hera always flushed too easily, it's what made it obvious to many that she was a warrior and not a maiden.

Hera's fear never took over her, not like it had with Demeter and Hestia.

Hestia turned towards fire, more precisely the floor of a fireplace, also known as the 'hearth', where the cold and darkness would never linger on. Hestia took comfort in finding a way to brave the darkness that surrounded her most of her life, but still, she carried a flame with her everywhere, having been the first to be devoured by their father; the darkness would forever be a reminder of her lonely years.

Demeter turned the world into color, where the sun would never be hidden, the fields vast, and the forest too beautiful to fear any shadows. Demeter ran away from darkness, and blinded herself with the beauty of light, in which, she found spring and summer making them her home and weapon for the memory of darkness and cold of her father's belly that made her cling to happy times and solitude. To Demeter, marriage was never appealing, but love, it tempted her like a blooming rose did to a mortal man.

Helios had been something unexpected, where Demeter did not foresee the god of the sun appealing to her very weak nature, the others, save for Zeus, had seen that.

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><p><em>Hera had once told Hades in jest, a white flower in the grasp of her hand as she twirled it around, "He'll steal her heart, Helios that is..."<em>

_"Oh, will he? And how are you so sure Hera?"_

_She smiled then, an innocent smile with all-too-knowing eyes, as she threw the flower into the air, giggling as it turned into a beautiful dove. "Because it has already been foretold, '__**The daughter of the Earth shall gaze into the sun, and she will know love'**__"._

_"And who has foretold this?" he persisted in his inquiries, while smiling at a young and glowing Hera._

_"The skies dear brother, if you gaze hard enough, they'll tell you the most beautiful of stories, neither of now or then, just somewhere in between times." Her words much softer, tinged with something akin to melancholy and nostalgia._

_And this time, Hades remained silent in understanding, whilst the wind gusted by as if agreeing._

_It is one of the first times that Hera and Hades discuss Uranus, and in respect to their grandmother, the very last time as well._

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><p>Zeus had been quite keen into learning about his newfound powers, and seeing the world he missed out on while he was learning how to defeat Cronus. Zeus feared no darkness, but darkness feared Zeus, for Zeus was thunder and lightning, his very presence demanded to be noticed, unlike Hades –who preferred to be the one doing the noticing—, but similar to Poseidon's and his waves that roared with noise and flowed with a certain calming melody.<p>

Poseidon was bright like Zeus, but more like the moon, always there and shining, -well, the moon itself and not Selene, for some reason, they never did get along much- like he was hope itself. Poseidon embraced his fear, until he and his fear had become one. Poseidon became change, and so darkness and he, were neither friend nor foe to one another, but acquaintances that would always need one another in some way. The cold had become home, but so had the warmth. Some say, Poseidon had embraced the darkness so easily because it was all he'd ever known, but Helios will tell you otherwise. Poseidon embraced the darkness, because Helios had told him, you don't have to choose one over the other, the sun will always be there even when the moon is out. After what was said, Poseidon embraced his fear, and could finally enjoy the depths of the ocean where the sun's light would never reach, or the waves that reflected the light of the sun as if darkness could never taint it. Poseidon had been content.

And then, there was Hades. The first son of Cronus, but not the oldest child, which was always Hestia's title, the first and eldest child, as well as being the first daughter. It was odd for Cronus to have devoured her first, especially since the prophecies had foretold a son, but I guess it was fear and wariness that had turned their father into a paranoid god instead of a righteous ruler, like Uranus before him –even though Uranus had gone insane and maybe power-hungry, and no one knows because Gaea never talks about him, the husband she'd made and let her son kill, no, Uranus was a story that would remain unheard for lifetimes and forevermore-, and probably Zeus, in time, if his brother did not learn to listen to good counsel and let anger become his voice of reason instead.

Hades worried a lot about their youngest, and where the path of being a ruler would take him. Hades wishes that Zeus would wait before adorning the crown and becoming their king, for Zeus was still too young, a good warrior, yes, but not yet a king, too young, too ignorant, and not wise enough. Zeus did not even know what suffering was, he would never be able to empathize, and perhaps that was why most of his siblings did not seek out Zeus, save for Hestia and himself. Zeus never thought before speaking, a habit only Rhea could forgive endlessly, but then again, so would most mothers, but not siblings, and not always.

Hera made sure to be polite to her youngest brother, but gave him no smiles, nor showed him distaste, she accepted Zeus as family, but never dared nor wanted to befriend him, for his ignorance bothered her, along with the fact of how he looked at women of all race with nothing but lust, it was rather demeaning in her eyes, especially since Hera was still a virgin goddess. Whilst Demeter simply couldn't stand Zeus, she felt as though her brother was far too arrogant and spoiled, never asking before taking, reminding her of Cronus in memories she'd thought she had buried centuries ago. Hestia loved Zeus like she loved all of them, patient with him, and always kind, she saw the light of Zeus as something beautiful instead of blinding. Poseidon had no distaste towards Zeus, but neither was he fond of their youngest sibling; he humored Zeus, and loved him like one would love the innocence of a child, but would not tolerate their misbehaving, always putting Zeus in his place, a habit that caused them to clash heads at times, but nonetheless, both Poseidon and Zeus were quick to forgive and forget, and at the best of times they were the closest of friends. An odd relationship theirs would always be, but with Hades and Zeus, it was truly of a younger sibling and his older one, Zeus held a respect towards Hades that only Hestia would see, along with Gaea, not Rhea though, for she would only see two sides of Zeus, the confident warrior, and the spoilt ignorant child that clung to his mother like flowers needed the sun. Zeus would look to Hades for guidance, since they had no father to guide them, along with the fact that Hades remained the wisest of them.

Hades enjoyed the darkness like warriors enjoyed ale after a long and tiring night, darkness was home to him, so black was like a part of him he could not forsake them. In black Hades did not see nothing, but he saw the beauty that light sometimes took away, for the darkness was cool, not warm like their father's belly, the darkness foretold secrets, meaning one could always keep finding things in the dark, unlike in the light, where one could not hide and always remained alone. In darkness beings strove to be closer to one another, and in light, they'd be separated, for each would admire different things.

He supposes that is why Poseidon has not let Helios's light claim his kingdom whole, for the sun could come no closer in the case of burning the mortal world, but too much light, and the ocean would become a mirror, Poseidon wanted the world to marvel his oceans, and if you could see it depths before setting foot at its shores, then where would the mystery go? Poseidon loved having secrets when he could, and the oceans reflected Poseidon's desire indeed, for they belonged to him, just like he belonged to them. Oceanus may have had claim to them, but the reign of the titans was no more, and Oceanus himself may no longer wanted the inner oceans with all their endless depth, he only wanted the outer ocean, to watch over Poseidon, as Oceanus loved his daughters, he favored his nephew who reminded him of his brother in his past enthusiasm and also since Oceanus did not have many sons, who were like Poseidon, Oceanus took him in like he was family, becoming a father to him.

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><p>Hades tends to watch his siblings with something akin to awe; he likes how the color black affects them all so differently, how they somehow take to it, and how they somehow do not. And as he watches the blue flames of the torches beside the entrance to his Underworld flicker, he is mesmerized by how the glow enlightens the darkness of his realm, and creates shadows that speak of many things that are and are not. The light does not deny the existence darkness, it only manages to make it more beautiful.<p>

That day, or night, as one can never really tell what time it is in the Underworld, he feels a warm hand touch his shoulder, the touch is familiar and gentle, with no intent of harm. He is sure when he hears the voice murmur softly "Hades, are you occupied with something?" and feels a smiles twist upon his lips; he feels slightly ashamed with himself, at how easy the smile comes when he hears her voice, it is only her who brings this pleased smile upon his face so easily.

"No, for you my dear sister, I am never too occupied to not greet you. Welcome back." he tells her softly, feeling glad when he sees how her eyes smile brightly, as her lips reveal nothing as always, years of training Zeus to find attention amongst other goddesses have made her smiles rare, but Hades is grateful that he is one of the few who's seen them since her decision.

"I am glad brother to be back, my duties on the mortal plane had taken some time." She tells him, sounding pleased to serve her people, and to have finished her duties. "I see, you have lit the torches already, is it already evening?"

Hades nods in answer to her question, and she looks thoughtful, "Well, I suppose I'll have to put this out then" she utters, while pointing to the lantern in the grasp of her left hand, and at her words, a familiar feeling floods his heart, and no matter how many times she's already said those words, the fact remains that Hera's lantern, which she never lights out, not even in Demeter's fields of grass and never-ending day, she puts it out only in his kingdom. Out of all the kingdoms, Hera always took comfort in his, something Hades took great pride in, so he always made sure Hera could feel that way, never forgetting to light the torches with flames of blue, red, light, orange or green. He would always make her feel like she never needed a light to stay calm and unafraid.

And when her lips curve into a smile, after blowing out her flame, she smiles, a shy smile, before telling him softly. "I missed you Hades", and he understands, brushes her ebony-black strands away from her right eye, and cups her cheek. "And I you, my dear sweet Hera".

The blue flames always manage to capture Hera's beauty, and when her eyes glow amongst his dark kingdom, he is ever so glad that Hera was the bravest of them all, he would have never dared to court her, even if she would not have minded him doing do. It was Hera who first brought her lantern here into his dark kingdom, and it was her who made him light these torches, just so that he could make her feel more at ease, and secretly, because he could never be in a place where he could not gaze at those eyes, and silky hair that fell like the inky waves of a black sea.

The silence that begins then is a familiar one, as she brings herself into his embrace, he holds her closer, enjoying the shade of black that only belonged to Hera, and no one else.

It is also why Hades loves black the most of all the colors.


	4. sweet

**Prompt:** sweet

**Rating:** General

**Length:** 500 words or so.

**Summary:** Hera finds irony to be most sweet.

**Pairing:** none.

**Character(s):** Hera.

**Author's Note:**

This work has been done for quite a while now, and I really don't know how to drag it out, the word combined with Hera, especially for this series felt odd, it's not that good, but I needed to get it over with. I'm sorry for taking forever, but I'm a procrastinator, and will sadly remain that way, I've also been busy with work, and there was university a month back, so i was taking a long break because I'm lazy, and I could. I also apologize if I seem to be bashing Zeus, but most of these are from Hera's perspective, not a male one, I'm not condoning any sexism that may have happened back then by ignoring the fact that Zeus does not deserve Hera or his throne, but hey, that's a matter of opinion and perspective, and this is a work of fiction, so whatever really. I appreciate critique, and am grateful for all the favorites and reviews, even if I may not respond, thank you for your support. I will also have you know, there's about 136 more prompts for me left to finish, and I hope many will be worth your while, and enjoyable.

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><p><strong><em>Sweet<em>**

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><p>She is sweet, or so they tell her, but Hera knows that only fruits are sweet, goddesses...not so much.<p>

Sweet is for something that makes you feel like nothing is ever sad, while happiness is close by.

Sweet is for the dreamers, and Hera, young though she may be, has never been a fool, that was either Poseidon or Zeus's title, sometimes Demeter, though none of them would dare tell her that straight to her face.

Sweet is for the person who decides to lie to themselves, because Hera prefers the harsh truth to sweet lies that could make the days better.

It is why she let herself marry Zeus, she knows that Zeus never promised to stay monogamous, it is not in his nature, he is a wild god, no female could tame him, and the one who could, had scared him off by something of a prophecy of a child too much like Cronus and Zeus himself, it is sad, but that is also fate, and fate is a rather terrible thing at times. Hera has accepted that one could not avoid fate, it is why she doesn't listen to prophecies, the future is better left unknown, that way, you could make it yours, and not fear the known, because knowing the unknown and trying to avoid it happening only causes it to come true. She married Zeus, because he promised her the throne of Olympus, and though Hera is aware of Zeus's ambitious personality, being a queen would make her life far too easy, as she could write history simply by being the wife of a king who doesn't understand the power of commitment.

Yes, Hera married Zeus, so that one day the throne would be hers, and Zeus, well, he'd fall ever so unknowingly, just like their father had.

Would not that be the sweetest of ironies?

And perhaps, right then, is where Hera might admit her love for sweet, sweet irony.

It is quite a satisfactory ending she muses.

Maybe now they could finally be done dealing with tyrannical male rulers and their sons who were no different from their fathers, despite former incidents which have should prevented that but didn't.

And Hera wonders, which of the children that would dare try to defy Zeus, and which of them would succeed, and make Hera the queen.

Sweet, Hera thinks, is not for the victor, but the fool who claims to be loved and unaware of his enemies lurking in sheep skin pretending they love him.

Sweet _is_ for Zeus.

For Hera always liked the bitter taste of victory, regardless of the cost it took to get it.

After all, why couldn't Olympus bow down to a queen instead of this male whore of a king.

It would be an epic event for all to see.

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><p><strong>end.<strong>


End file.
